Cases of Sudden Cardiac Death in Yunnan

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In the cases of sudden cardiac death in Yunnan (Engl. Yunnan Unknown Cause Sudden Death or Yunnan Sudden Death Syndrome ) is a series of in medical literature and popular press described, not entirely clear cases of sudden cardiac death , the southwest China in the Yunnan Province has accumulated during the monsoon season since the late 1970s .

Description and attempts to explain

Since 1978, about 400 cases of sudden cardiac death in villagers in Yunnan Province have been described by researchers from the China Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CCDC). The cases almost always occurred during the summer rainy season (June to August) at an altitude of 1,800 to 2,400 m and affected both children and adults.

A generally accepted explanation for the deaths has not yet been found. Possible explanations include Keshan's disease caused by the Coxsackie virus , the deadly species of fungus Trogia venenata (also known as the “little white man”), or water contaminated with barium compounds .

The phenomenon received widespread attention in the international press after an article in the news section of Science magazine in 2010 that attributed the deaths to mushroom poisoning.

literature

  • GQ Shi et al .: Clusters of sudden unexplained death associated with the mushroom, Trogia venenata, in rural Yunnan Province, China. In: PLoS ONE . Volume 7, number 5, 2012, p. E35894, ISSN  1932-6203 . doi : 10.1371 / journal.pone.0035894 . PMID 22615743 . PMC 3355161 (free full text)
  • R. Stone: Epidemiology. Will a midsummer's nightmare return? In: Science . Volume 329, Number 5988, July 2010, pp. 132-134, ISSN  1095-9203 . doi : 10.1126 / science.329.5988.132 . PMID 20616244 .
  • HY Wang et al .: Pathological study of unexpected sudden death clustered in family or village in Yunnan province: report of 29 cases of autopsy. In: Zhonghua yi xue za zhi. Volume 87, Number 31, August 2007, pp. 2209-2214, ISSN  0376-2491 . PMID 18001532 .
  • ZL Yang et al .: Trogia venenata (Agaricales), a novel poisonous species which has caused hundreds of deaths in southwestern China. In: Mycological Progress. 11, 2012, pp. 937-945, doi : 10.1007 / s11557-012-0809-y .
  • J. Zhang et al .: Clinical features of unexpected sudden death clustered in 7 families in Yunnan Province. In: Zhonghua xin xue guan bing za zhi. Volume 36, Number 7, July 2008, pp. 613-617, ISSN  0253-3758 . PMID 19100089 .
  • ZY Zhou et al .: Evidence for the natural toxins from the mushroom Trogia venenata as a cause of sudden unexpected death in Yunnan Province, China. In: Angewandte Chemie (International ed. In English). Volume 51, Number 10, March 2012, pp. 2368-2370, ISSN  1521-3773 . doi : 10.1002 / anie.201106502 . PMID 22287497 .

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